This week's opinion

The gig economy is suddenly a topic of major concern in government. Perhaps as a result of the Uber decision which makes it clear that somebody can be a worker without being either an employee or self-employed the status of those in the ‘on demand’ economy is far from clear. On one level this affects employment rights (or the lack of them); on another it concerns tax – or at least who is responsible for paying it. I have counted four different announcements on this in the past few days: The House of Commons’ Business Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has launched a review; the prime minister has commissioned a study; the treasury committee has called for submissions as part of its work on defining the UK tax base; and the Office of Tax Simplification has issued a focus paper (see aside).

Let’s hope that there is some co-ordination across...